


Stormy Thoughts

by yogkabob



Category: MindCrack RPF
Genre: Asexual Character, M/M, asexual!Beef, this was sitting around forever omg i needed to post it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 20:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3908788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yogkabob/pseuds/yogkabob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's raining in Oxeye, and Beef doesn't know when to stop until it really matters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stormy Thoughts

The rain had been pouring down in thick sheets for hours now. The occasional flash of lighting was followed by a chest-rattling boom. It hadn’t rained like this for weeks. A thick mist coated the land in every direction and a grey tone had taken over every once-bright color.

That was the least of Beef’s concerns. The fat droplets bounced off of his shiny diamond armor, not soaking it but giving it a chill that seeped all the way to his bones. Oxeye, his biggest project yet, had taken hours of his time so far and the weather was not about to stop him. The quarter  _looked_  finished, but there was still so much to do in Beef’s eyes. Extra lighting, more plant life, more stray cats… he wasn’t going to be stopping anytime soon, even if the rain showed no signs of fading. So, he continued on, the cold water dripping past his helmet and from his beard and face.

He found it hard to grip the more smooth materials, but he managed to secure the shutters onto the windows of a blue building he’d been working on for a while. Nodding in satisfaction, he deconstructed his dirt pillar and stood back to admire his work. Only seconds were spent to himself before he moved on to the next one.

Beef didn’t realize he was shivering until he heard the zombie. It’s fists pounded against the doors loudly, and the wood could be heard splintering beneath its force. It could smell the villagers and wanted blood. Those iron golems couldn’t be trusted with the traders’ lives if the zombie was to get to them. Beef went to unsheathe his sword, but it clattered to the ground when his hand failed to grip the handle hard enough.

“Shit,” Beef hissed, looking around for the zombie, hoping to stop it before it destroyed the door and got to the villagers. By the sounds of it, the creature was close to beating it down, and its groaning was only getting louder while Beef tried his best to bring life back into his fingers.

Suddenly, the groaning stopped. Through the droning of the rain, Beef heard the faint thud of its body hitting the ground and disintegrating. He cautiously stood back up, sword held awkwardly in his hands, and crept to where he thought the noise had come from. It was easy to spot the battered door, but the mystery remained as to what had killed the impending zombie. Not enough sunlight was shining the clouds to have burned it. While Beef leaned down to look at the scene, he didn’t hear the soft footsteps that came from atop his clay buildings. He didn’t hear the clinking of a sword, either, until another thud sounded behind him and he turned only to see Etho.

“I really expected better of you, Beef,” Etho said flatly. Beef huffed at him, straightening his poster in attempt to look more collected than he was. “Granite streets? Really?”

At this, Beef had to laugh a little. He’d briefly had Etho in mind when building this town, but he never expected him to actually visit. Still, Etho ran his foot over the slick granite, his nose scrunched up in disgust. Beef wasn’t too worried about his vistor; Etho could have easily tagged him with a bow or used his sword on him if he really wanted to, but had kept to the zombie. Though his grin was mischievous, Beef knew he was in safe hands. Or, well, safe enough.

Speaking of hands, Beef’s were still shaking and his sword rattled against the side of his protective diamond pants. Etho glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, before quietly grabbing the sword from Beef and sliding back into the sheathe on his hip for him. Beef scowled and looked away. He could have done it himself.

“I… I thought you’d like the cats, at least?” He dropped the sentence like a question, hoping to change the focus. As if on cue, a soft meow came a few buildings away, where the cats had gathered beneath a door frame to keep dry. Etho looked that way and his eyes lost their stern look. A good sign.

“I do. Very cute.”

Without warning, he began walking, and it was all Beef could do to keep a steady pace beside him until they ended up beneath one of the awnings set up. Being out of the rain felt nicer than Beef was about to admit. Etho leaned against the birch door.  

“What are you doing here?” Beef asked. Etho had been almost nonexistent since he left. It was nice to see him again– really, really nice– but he was confused as well. Etho laughed a little, shrugging.

“Just wanted to stop by, keep you from making any other horrible decisions.” Again, he nodded to the granite-lined streets. He was so clearly salty about it all. “Other than that… it’s looking good.” He looked around, his head slowly panning side to side as he took in the scenery. (He had to crane his neck a little to make up for his bad eye.) Beef found himself silently beaming at the praise; he built this for himself– for the villagers– but Etho’s opinion suddenly meant the world to him.

“It’s almost as soaked as you are,” Etho remarked, almost accusingly. Beef’s head was yanked from the clouds and he sputtered a bit. “Nuh-uh!” he objected. “I’m not that wet!” Water continued to drip from his beard and hair that stuck out from beneath his helmet, proving his argument false. Etho looked at him skeptically.  

“How long have you been out here?” he asked. Beef ceased his fussing to pause and think seriously, looking at the freshly-added details that were only being dulled by the clouds.

“About three hours, maybe?” he mumbled. Not the longest time, no, but he still wasn’t happy with his overall work. Etho’s eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms, still leaning against the door. His stare was electric enough to attract lightning. “Beef,” he sighed, shaking his head. “You can’t do that to yourself.”

Beef could hardly believe it. Mr. Slab himself, the man who survived on nothing but zombie flesh for three days for a bit of redstone, is giving advice on personal care. Beef scoffed hard and tried not to roll his eyes.

“Sure, Etho, whatever you say. It was three hours, you’ve spent longer underground!” Beef laughed, but Etho didn’t. He was less than impressed, actually.

“You’re not me, Beef, and I’m not you. In this weather? You could hardly hold your sword.”

At this, Beef stopped laughing. He was still a little embarrassed about that, being unable to hold his own equipment. Even as they spoke, his fingers nearly refused to curl completely. He subtly tried to slip them beneath the edge of his chest piece to warm them up before Etho noticed. “No, man, I know my limits.”

Etho glared at him. “When did you plan on taking a break?”

“I–” Beef closed his mouth and frowned. “I didn’t.”

With that, Etho knew the argument had been won. Beef violently shrugged off the accusing stare, turning his back to Etho to look back at the streets. “Shutty,” he grumbled. “Did you come here just to hassle me?“

Etho let out a drawn out laugh, one that sounded more up to no good than Beef was comfortable with. Behind him, Beef could hear him shifting around, but out of spite he kept his eyes off of him. "I missed you!” he said humorously. He lightly touched Beef’s shoulder, who finally turned around after a few seconds of tense silence. But when he looked back, instead of the mischievous demeanor he expected, Etho looked… almost sad. Beef mouthed for words that didn’t come; he was unable to read the expression enough to respond.

“I  _missed_  you, Beef.”

His mask was neutral, not pressed against the smile he usually harbored. His voice was low and honest.

“Wh– I missed you, too…” was all Beef could manage, unsure how to comfort the man in front of him. He had missed Etho, sometimes achingly, but he kept himself busy and distracted with other projects. Oxeye had done a good job of keeping his mind off of the missing redstoner. He had no idea that Etho missed him even a little bit as much. Hesitantly, he stepped a little closer.

“Are you… alright?” Beef asked softly. Lightning flashed in the background and thunder rattled the pane of glass next to Beef’s head. Etho nodded.

“I’m fine. Everything’s fine, now. I found you, it’s great.” He slowly reached forward and slid off Beef’s diamond helmet. Again, Beef could have done it himself, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to care. Etho let it clatter to the ground beside where he stood in his own diamond boots. Beef had a million questions running through is mind.  _Why did you leave, why did you come back, why do you miss me, can I kiss you?_  The last question was easily answered when Etho pulled down his mask and pressed his mouth against Beef’s. Beef was surprised in the most pleasant of ways. He pulled his hands from his sides and wasted no time in tangling them in Etho’s shaggy white hair. He nearly melted into the touch, his exhaustion from working finally making an appearance. This wasn’t a first for them, but it was as sweet as any.

“Etho,” Beef gasped, sucking in the damp air around them. Etho looked satisfied, his exposed mouth curling into a slight grin. No matter how fulfilled he looked, however, he kept his hands locked around Beef’s waist and made no effort to let go. He only pressed himself closer against the diamond plating.

“Your hands are cold,” he said simply. Beef laughed airily, shaking his head, before going in for another kiss. Again he felt like he was floating in bliss, just happy to be able to touch Etho again, to taste him and feel him there, no matter how odd or sudden his arrival may have been. Beef pressed his hand against Etho’s jaw, tilting his head for the best angle of reach. Really, he was just happy that Etho was  _there_.

“Mh,  _Beef_ ,” Etho grumbled against his mouth. He pressed himself even closer, and slid his hands to Beef’s hips. The sensual movements were nice in theory, but Beef felt his own actions stutter once Etho’s hands began to wander. The kissing was nice– he could have kissed him for hours– but he forced himself to pull back and stop everything.

“Etho,” he blurted nervously. “Sorry– I don’t… God, I’m sorry–” He rubbed his hands over his face, frowning and trying to make himself calm down. Etho pulled back as well, giving Beef space as he attempted to find the right words. He looked at him with concern.

“Can we just–… not take it… any further?” Beef finally managed to drag out. There it was again; that familiar nagging guilt, the embarrassment that always came when someone else got a little too eager. Etho’s eyes softened with understanding, and he quickly nodded. “Of course,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked. Are you okay?” He reached out his hand, unsure, but Beef took it without hesitation.

“Yeah. We should… go somewhere else. Drier.” He laughed awkwardly. Etho took up on his idea and nodded again, eager to make up for the fuss he caused.

“Where to?”

Beef only had to think for a moment. His own base didn’t appeal to him at the moment, especially in the rain, so he said the first place that came to mind. “Etho Corp is still around, you know.”

Etho grinned widely and nodded. He silently stepped out in the open, examining the dreary sky, and beckoned for Beef to follow. “What kind of boots are you wearing?” he asked. Beef looked down at the gently glowing braces around his ankles.

“Um… Protection, blast protection, feather falling—”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Etho grabbed Beef’s chilled hand tightly and threw an Ender pearl, far past the walls of Oxeye and into the unknown. The last thing that echoed through the town was Beef’s amused laughter before the pearl smashed against the ground somewhere completely different.

 

**Author's Note:**

> this is kind of a minecraft!universe were servers are kinda connected where people can travel between them, kind of? use your imagination if you want. (these are characters, not the real people!)


End file.
